evolt.org celebrates three years

Posted on December 13, 2001

in Commentary & Society

by Daniel Cody (djc)

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Daniel Cody

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User since: December 13, 1998

Last login: September 17, 2007

Articles written: 146

As I sit down and reflect upon another year in the life of evolt.org, one word pops in to my head again and again: Wow.

As evolt.org marks its third birthday today, December 14th, 2001, we also celebrate a year of change, continued growth, and new beginnings. No longer are we the rebel underdog site devoted to web developers and the web development trade; we're seen as one of the leading resources for the web development professionals we aim to serve, and without whom we wouldn't exist. Although we may not be the new kids on the block anymore, we still hold true to the principles we've followed since inception - a world community of web developers promoting the mutual free exchange of ideas, skills, and experiences without commercial distraction - and we're continually evolving, continually evolting.

So how is evolt.org still evolving and evolting? Here are some of the highlights from the past year:

thelist, which one year ago had an impressive 1,000 subscribers, now boasts over 2,500 subscribers and yet it's still recognized as a highly professional, ever helpful and friendly, low noise high signal list - despite a size that might drive other mailing lists to collapse under their own weight.
members.evolt.org started offering hosting in March 2001 to evolt.org members so that they may develop in environments like Cold Fusion, PHP, and MySQL, which they otherwise may not have a chance to do. Nearly 1,000 web developers call members.evolt.org their home on the web and place to learn at no cost.
4,500,000+ page views of evolt.org sites this year and an average of 82,000 distinct hosts visiting each and every month. Apparently, people like to evolt! :)
The formation of theforum mailing list, an open mailing list where the direction and future of evolt.org are discussed and decided upon. No longer is the future of evolt.org determined by a closed (albeit, capable) group of people - each and every member of evolt.org now has the opportunity to make his or her voice heard!
The evolt.org directory, a searchable directory containing links submitted by fellow web practitioners covering web design and development.
Finally, the first ever evolt.org survey - your chance to express likes, dislikes, and ideas for improvement of evolt.org! The responses and feedback are being actively discussed and acted upon as we speak, to continue to make evolt.org the best web development resource on the Internet!

With so many great things happening with evolt.org, it's difficult to single out the one thing I'm most thankful for this year. The incredible perseverance of this community never fails to astonish me. With every passing day, it seems another resource for web developers either falls along the wayside, gets acquired (and abandoned), or switches its focus to a more "lucrative audience." As the flush cash and race for eyeballs of the late 90's dries up, it is somewhat ironic that a website like evolt.org can survive - strike that, flourish - solely off the contributions of its members and without the financial backing that seemed so important just a year ago.

Personally, I think that what evolt.org continues to accomplish on a daily basis is a tribute to the spirit of the Internet. Thousands of people helping each other out - not for tangible gain, but because they all believe it makes the Internet a better place - says a lot about you, the members of the evolt.org community. As we celebrate our third birthday, I couldn't be more proud of what evolt.org has become; nor could I be more excited about the places evolt.org is going! Thanks to everyone who has made evolt.org into what it is, and to those who continue to raise the bar on what we can accomplish!

Happy third birthday evolt.org!!!

Dan lives a quiet life in the bustling city of Milwaukee, WI. Although he founded what would become evolt.org in 1998, he's since moved on to other projects and is now the owner of Progressive Networks, a Zimbra hosting company based in Milwaukee.

His personal site can be found at http://dancody.org/

5 comments on this article. Log in to add your comment | Rate this article:

Happy Birthday

Submitted by dmah on December 14, 2001 - 07:59.

The past year has probably been the toughest for evolt.org. We've gone through some growing pains but things are starting to sort themselves out finally. I think the thing that I am most happy about this year is the increased ability for the community to participate in the evolution of evolt.org. With the introduction of theforum list and the maturing of thesite list, new life has been breathed into the community. It's giving me a kick in the ass to be more productive and to contribute more as well as making it fun and exciting again.

So congratulations to everyone that's made evolt.org what it is today. And thanks to everyone that will make it better tomorrow.

WOOHOOOOOO!!!

Submitted by mantruc on December 14, 2001 - 12:25.

I also think this year has been excellent for evolt.org, we currently have more energy than ever, with lots of people anxious to give back to the community.

The survey results have been thrilling, the notion of "a real sense of community" in lots of comments fills me with joy and pride, you all have taken this far beyond our initial dreams. It's up to all of us to keep this growing and keeping the high level, which is a very high aim.

evolt.org rocks, more than ever. Thank you, all of you, keep it coming.

Happy birthday to all of us! weeeeeeeeee!

My only pain is we can't actually get together for the drinks tonight, but we'll be still connected in hearts ;)

Ok, then. Drinks at my place.

Submitted by mwarden on December 14, 2001 - 14:09.

Evolt party at my place.

It is truly amazing to think of how this all started and how we've grown to what we are today. I remember when Evolt was just a mailing list and how excited everyone was when we finally got our white-background, black-letter, mailing-list management site (with the logo too!). Those who remember that: mentally compare that site with what we have now. Simply amazing. Then compare the sense of community we had then to the sense of community we have now. Even more amazing. Like I said...

Evolt party at my place.

Thanks

Submitted by mccreath on December 15, 2001 - 14:26.

Three and half years ago, I was sick of the web. I left the second start-up that I had worked for and went back to retail. A year later I had moved 4,000 miles and was looking for work. With a fair amount of trepidation, I took a job as "webmaster" for a public school district, figuring that even if it was the web, at least it wasn't a start-up. Realizing the desperate need of the district, I got more and more fired up about doing something really cool, but quickly realized that most of my plans were beyond my skills. One year away from the web at a crucial juncture had put me behind the curve. I needed some help.

Then, as luck would have it, I was scouring Web Monkey for something and saw mention of evolt and thelist. I read through the site, read through the archives, and shortly afterward subscribed. I could tell immediately that there was something different about this group. I posted my first question to thelist sometime in late August of 1999. I think it was something about batch-converting Mac Word 98 documents into HTML. Within a few hours, I had multiple answers from all over the place, and all of them were helpful, polite, and to the point.

In the interceding 2 years and then some, evolt and its members have made the web vital and fun for me again. I have gone through periods of intense involvement and periods of lurking, but I have never left evolt, and its importance in my life has never waned. In no small part, I owe my professional success to this list and this group, not just for technical advice, but for encouragement, hand-holding, and friendship. I have never felt so grateful or so close to a group of people that I have never met in person.

So, to the people who started it, the people who use it, the people who keep it running, and the people seeing to its future success, thank you, and cheers.

David

Spirit of the Internet

Submitted by SKaiser on December 17, 2001 - 07:44.

Dan,

First, congratulations on 3 years with Evolt. This is such a major accomplishment, and behind this accomplishment is the high quality of the content and how so many have contributed to helping to pursue your vision. As you state,

"Personally, I think that what evolt.org continues to accomplish on a daily basis is a tribute to the spirit of the Internet. Thousands of people helping each other out - not for tangible gain, but because they all believe it makes the Internet a better place - says a lot about you, the members of the evolt.org community."

This is also what I see as the spirit of the Internet and why I love being in this Industry. Additionally, I see this spirit as a reflection of how most people truly are in this world. (Unfortunately that doesn't make the news much, with the exception of the 9/11 attacks and aftermath. I'm not surprised at how we've pulled together but it also warms my heart.)

Congratulaions on 3 years. I greatly admire your work and what you've accomplished. The Internet wouldn't be the same without Evolt.org.

Continued success,
Shirley Kaiser

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